this is cambridge and 1 in 7

sod's law has endless variations, many of which can be experienced in one day, confounding all the good stuff by quietly pulling the rug from under the smiley bit. however, such situations can often be mitigated by cycling, based entirely on the premise that cycling cures everything. it's a mantra i have repeated more often than my non-cycling work colleagues would truly prefer.

every now and again, i have the good fortune to land a couple of percussive gigs in tandem; the good fortune relates to the fact that i can leave the drumset in situ between gigs. all drummers will know of which i speak, being able to pop the sticks in their bag and simply walk home in the early hours of the morning. the sod's law part of this equation relates to distribution of the newspaper at which i frequently ply my trade.

published on a saturday every two weeks means my arising shortly after 7am to meet the distribution van for island wide delivery, before dropping the local copies into a couple of shops (one of which is sensibly closed at that time of th morning). unfortunately, participation in these infrequent gigs (it's a small island) almost always coincides with the newspaper's publication weekend.

thus, the ability to walk insouciantly away from the drums and cymbals is totally undermined by an early rise the following morning. add to that the iniquity of the band in question being somewhat on the loud side and the evening's physical exertions invariably result in sore shoulders, neck and probably a case of hi-hat knee.

and that's where the cycling bit comes in.

though the sunday morning ride is carved in stone, saturday lunchtime also results in an unbreakable appointment with a double egg roll and a cappuccino at debbie's. the fact that i often take the long way round in order to get there in the first place, allied to a similar diversion on the way home, is surely neither here nor there. thus, on arriving back to a hot shower, any stress, strain and niggling pain garnered from my percussive activities has vanished into the open air.

cycling cures all ills.

but my discomfort and being subjected to the law of sod is purely transitory. even if the saturday eve's noise results in a similar set of inquities, the sunday morning ride will surely take care of them too? others are less fortunate. for them, sod's law sits on their shoulder day in and day out making sure that pain and discomfort occupies the chronic end of the spectrum. i'm pretty sure you can't get this from sitting behind a drumset for a couple of evenings each month, nor indeed can it be activated by clouting your shin off an spd pedal. chronic pain is often the result of acute injury, sending the body's nervous system into overdrive.

though the human body is a marvellous piece of engineering, every now and again its internal wiring can be thrown off kilter. the nervous system becomes, for want of a better word, hyperactive, continually sending alert messages to the brain, engendering the aforementioned chronic pain. it's a situation that affects one in seven of the uk population and one in five across the world. however, it continues to be a poorly understood condition and thus receiving of less medical and patient support than it truly deserves.

daphne kaufhold of this is cambridge has suffered from chronic pain for the last five years after a road traffic accident. she subscribes to my mantra. "Cycling is an immensely important part of my life. The training, challenge and achievement gives me the strength, focus and purpose to help me manage my daily life of pain. The natural endorphins provide me with temporary pain relief, which in turn helps me cope better with the pain throughout the day. There is no question that the psychological and physical effect of cycling is an essential part of staying resilient and coping with this immensely challenging condition"

fortunately, daphne and her partner at this is cambridge have the ideal weapon to give sod a taste of his/her own medicine. their caps ought not to need any introduction from me, regularly featured as they are in these black and yellow pixels. the latest, an addition to the panache plume range displays the 1 in 7 logo under the peak, with £5 from every cap sold donated to fund essential research.

"Our initiative hopes to actively encourage people to exercise as a pain management tool. However we highly recommend that anyone considering partaking in any physical exercise, especially if they have had a prolonged period off the bike, to consult with a medical expert and physical trainer prior to doing so."

this is cambridge's 1 in 7 caps sell for £24.50. unlike most other caps on the market, tic do not favour the one-size-fits-all, so the panache series is available in sizes ranging from xs all the way to xl and in colour options of black/grey, black/pink, and black/red. the example shown on my eager young model is size small.